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Nokia CEO Stephen Elop used a “burning platform” metaphor to tell staffers that their company faces a life-threatening decision. They can either stand on a burning oil rig and be consumed by the flames, or take a risk and dive into the ocean below.

At a press briefing this morning, Elop announced that Nokia will leap from the burning platform and adopt Windows Phone 7 as its operating system of choice. Sidestepping adoption of the more popular and rapidly-growing Android, Nokia has made a bold move that could prove to be one of its worst.

The man on the platform could have leapt feet-first into Android, a platform that has risen to prominence faster than anyone could have imagined. It would have attached Nokia’s name, which carries a recent history of great hardware with undesirable software, to the ecosystem best-suited to challenge Apple and RIM. Putting Gingerbread on a Nokia phone would have assured that a phone with an incredible camera, radiant design, and strong physical build, had equally impressive software. But the man on the platform chose an upstart that has so-far failed to catch-on with consumers.

Nokia’s previous leader scoffed at Android and stood firm in his commitment to Nokia’s platforms. It made sense that the phone maker would do everything in its power to protect its domain. But Stephen Elop didn’t see that as the right strategy in a “war of ecosystems” that has Nokia looking like a failing empire with raiders closing in on all side. Still, it’s surprising that Nokia changed course for Windows Phone 7?

Windows Phone 7 is a decent operating system, but it’s far behind Android in every metric. That was seen as a positive rather than a negative, as Elop said Nokia passed on Android because it “would have difficulty differentiating within that ecosystem.” Android has moved so far because of the number of companies producing phones running the OS, but there are “too many players” for Nokia to see the rapid turnaround that Elop wants. WP7 presents a smaller field of competition and a chance for a unique opportunity (Microsoft is giving Nokia preferential treatment over other WP7 makers). So instead of getting into the sturdy lifeboat that already had some other oil workers, Nokia entered the shaky one with fewer people. (Better to be the captain of a sinking ship than a passenger on one that floats?)

Current trends show that Android is a more desirable operating system for cell phone buyers, but WP7 seemed the most desirable and sensible choice to Elop. Nokia saved itself by jumping off the burning platform that was Symbian and Meego, but the oil-slick covering the water that is Windows Phone 7 may catch afire before Nokia ever gets the chance to swim to safety.

yea, I do agree with GuardianAli about Stephen Elop he was the head of business division of Microsoft. So he will bring Microsoft to Nokia. I think he is making bad decision, because every one knows Android is way fast and has tons of application.

Nokia's the biggest phone manufacturers in the industry so it wont drown no matter what everyone thinks. I'm a fan of the Symbiam OS. well i think the Android idea was the best. But i have a feeling Elop has a strong plan behind all this. WM7 is outta the question.

Are they not paying attention to HTC? You just run both platforms – modern consumers want freedom of choice. With the exception of the Apple nerds out there with half a brain, everyone wants to be able to choose an alternative – hence why Android has been so successful. Because not only can you choose an alternate platform, you can actually different variatiosn fo it dependant upon the manufacturer, without limiting your choices of the platofrms own capabilities. Almost every phone manufacturer out there today ahs realised this and offers at least one or two Android handsets in addition to their own platform, or a windows mobile platform. The only real exceptions are Apple and Nokia (and we can see what that's doing to them). I may be wrong but even Blackberry have phones with their own platform and others with a Windows platform? Everyone else has an Android variant these days and is benefiting as a result. Oh well… Nokia will leanr the hard way I guess – but over-all I dont' think this will be the end of Nokia – just a few years of restructure and difficulty re-claiming their place as the No. 1 company.

I have always been a fan of nokia phones, but I did not much like the symbian OS but I stuck with them, now that Nokia has overlooked Android as the better OS and has gone with "buggy" Windows I will no longer be purchasing Nokia phones. Sony Ericsson & Android here I come.

The way this "ecosystem" appears now, Nokia looks about as stable as an Icelandic volcano and I predict a take over bid of Nokia by Microsoft within 24 months. Didn't MS recently acquire Skype? I imagine a future MS-Nokia smartphone would be VIOP only and utilise technologies such as twitter or something similar for SMS. All connectivity would be wireless Internet.

NOKIA islike a frog in a well. They think people will blindly support their decisions. They do not read the writing on the wall. Nokia is doomed and this will cause irreparable damage and some one will acquire a sick and sinking Nokia at 1/10th of current price and then there will be turnaround.